Brookfield Plans to Invest $500 Million in Leap Green

(Bloomberg) -- Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is planning to invest about $500 million for a majority stake in Indian renewable power firm Leap Green Energy Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.

If a deal is completed, Toronto-based Brookfield would likely own a majority stake in Leap Green, with the company’s founding family and global investor The Rohatyn Group holding the rest, the people said. An investment could boost Leap Green’s plans to expand its wind energy capacity in India, the people said.

Brookfield aims to invest in Leap Green via its global transition fund, one of the people said. In February, the firm announced it had raised $10 billion in the first closing of a fund dedicated to investing in areas such as clean energy.

Representatives for Brookfield and Leap Green declined to comment.

Leap Green is based in Coimbatore, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has an operational capacity of more than 750 megawatts, with ambitions to expand beyond seven gigawatts by 2029, according to its website. Its portfolio includes wind, solar, green hydrogen and electric-vehicle charging assets.

The Rohatyn Group, known as TRG, is an existing investor in Leap Green, along with the founding family. New York-based TRG specializes in emerging markets and real assets. 

Global alternative asset managers are being drawn to India amid a focus on clean energy and the country’s rapid economic growth. Other sectors attracting interest include digital infrastructure and health care. In another example of India’s growing allure, KKR & Co. recently agreed to acquire Bengaluru-based medical device maker Healthium Medtech Ltd. from Apax Partners. 

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